Page 92 of A Rancher's Bride
Especially if Luke was holding her.
* * *
He dealtwith the condom quickly, then gathered her against him. Their naked bodies ended up twined together as if they were trees that had been planted in the same spot.
She fell asleep in his arms, tears still marring her face.
How was it possible for everything to change so completely and yet feel as if this was the way his life was always meant to be?
Luke adjusted position so he could stroke wisps of hair off Kelli’s face, staring down at her with that bigger-than-life sensation in his chest.
All his life, he remembered simply doing the next thing. He’d done that as a young man, growing up under the firm tutelage of his father. He’d learned all the tasks required to keep the machinery running and how to care for the animals at Silver Stone ranch.
Between his father and Ashton, Luke knew he’d had strong masculine examples during his growing-up years. He’d seen his oldest brother deal with heartbreak until finally falling in love with the perfect woman. He’d seen Walker push through fear and worry to end up rock solid with Ivy, the years they’d been apart erased as if they’d never happened.
During all that time, Luke had done the next thing. Gotten up in the morning, done his work. Trained the horses, dealt with customers. He’d enjoyed himself, even had a sense of pride, but there’d always been that edge of following by rote.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t wait to get up in the morning, he just did. It wasn’t that he couldn’t wait to work with the horses. Although he enjoyed his tasks, he didn’t have any urgent desire that made him eager to start. Even his relationship with his ex-fiancée had been more about expectations than a true desire for connection.
The only thing—theonlycommon thread of joy over the past years—was the woman lying in his arms. A woman who, when he’d surprised her at the falls with momentous news, had been more concerned about his comfort than her own.
Kelli was the one perfect element in his life, and now that he truly thought it through, she was the only irreplaceable part as well.
It had taken him until now to figure that out.
She was the reason he was eager to get up and head out to train the horses, because her unending enthusiasm and excitement spilled over into his life with joy. Her jokes and her crazy habits, like leaping from high surfaces, or eavesdropping at the most awkward times—he knewwhatto expect from her, but never when to expect it.
She brought spontaneity into his world, whether they were working together, fighting with each other, or now during this brief time, driving each other wild with sexual antics.
There was nothing habit-like when it came to Kelli. She was so much more than that.
As he stared down at her, long lashes resting against her cheeks, it hit him as solidly as the ground had smacked him when he’d been bucked off Chili Pepper—
He loved her. Completely and utterly. It was the most wonderful thing to realize while simultaneously shooting ice along his spine.
Because all of those men in his life? His father, his brothers, his friends? They’d all taught him how important it was to be able to choose what he wanted.
There was no way Kelli could do that now. Choose him, that is.
She had a whole new world open before her, and it wouldn’t be right to force her to stay. Not right now. Not until she’d had the chance to spread her wings and step into Timothy Carlyn’s world.
Did he want her to go away? Hell, no. And in spite of the pain inside him as he struggled to do the right thing, he knew there was no way he could let her go. Not forever.
But right now? She was so overwhelmed, she probably had no idea exactly what it meant to be linked with Timothy Carlyn. To be able to have the resources and connections he did.
Luke needed to let her go temporarily to experience that. To let her show off her talents in a place other than Silver Stone if she wanted. He had no right to keep her by his side where he’d finally—finally—figured out he wanted her.
Their breathing had slowed. Once again she surprised him, eyes sliding open to stare into his face. “You’re thinking so loudly I can hear it.”
Her fingers rose to his face then past, stroking through his hair then down his neck, over and over in a smooth circle.
“It’s been a big day. Lots to think about,” he admitted.
Her lips curled upward. “It’s late enough we can give it a rest until tomorrow. Go to sleep, Luke.”
“Bossy,” he complained, although that wasexactlywhat he wanted. Kelli in his life, bossing and teasing and tormenting him.
She placed a hand to his chest and pushed, sending him to his back. Even as she moved she was waking up, mischief sliding across her features. “Seeing as we’re very conveniently naked, maybe what you need is a little help relaxing.”
